We Could be More
by onekisstotakewithmex
Summary: Summer, '91. Kate's jealousy accomplishes a little more than she was expecting, and something good comes of it. Keredith, featuring my OC, Meredith Neal, previously introduced in "That's Christmas to Me"... I still argue that Caitlin Rose Todd is bisexual.


It should have been the perfect sort of day. Another day of spending the mornings sleeping in, tangled in the sheets of the sofa beds in Meredith's basement, eating a pint of ice cream for breakfast before taking up permanent residence by the pool.

It wasn't perfect, because every time Kate looked up from re-reading her already ragged copy of _Outlander_ , Meredith wouldn't meet her eyes. She'd been like that since yesterday afternoon. Kate had had a job interview at the movie theater downtown, and Meredith had stayed poolside with Daniel keeping an eye on her like a protective older brother.

But ever since then, Meredith had been acting shifty. Kate watched her from the corner of her eye, averting her eyes when she saw Mer glance her way. Mer pulled the worn MIT shirt over her head, before diving into the deep end. Kate couldn't help but watch as she began swimming laps, smiling. Mer's dedication to practicing for swim team was endearing, but as Kate watched her swim, the smile faded. Mer never practiced when Kate was around, preferring to sit beside her and gossip, even if Kate wasn't paying attention.

She pulled her baseball cap lower over her eyes, turning back to her book. But Jamie Fraser wasn't doing it for her today.

"Mer!" she called, when Meredith surfaced, "I'm going to grab a snack. You want anything?"

Her best friend's smile was hesitant. "I wouldn't say no to mozzarella sticks!"

"I'm not going all the way to the diner and buying you mozzarella sticks. Go get them yourself."

"But Kate," Mer whined, "I'm all _wet._ "

"That's your problem."

Mer swung herself out of the pool, "Well you're about to be wet too."

Kate held up her hands, backing away rapidly, "You wouldn't!"

Mer ran towards her, grinning, "You know I don't make idle threats!" She wrapped her arms around her, Kate shrieking as the water dripping off Meredith soaked through her own shirt. Merwas giggling as she continued hugging Kate, and then suddenly pulled away. "Just grab me whatever," she said, stumbling over her words, as she turned back to jump into the pool, resuming her laps.

Kate raised an eyebrow, staring after her best friend. Mer was never hesitant about touching her. She was always the friend to grab her hand, or touch her shoulder on the way by, or to sleep curled up against her. Shaking her head, trying to dispel the feelings of wrongness inside, ignoring the sinking feeling in her gut that something was wrong, instead heading inside to see exactly what Mer had in the cupboards.

She dug through the pantry, not finding much in the way of food, until she found a bag of chips, and a bag of Sour Patch Kids, Mer's favorite candy. She grinned, grabbing the bag, and heading back out to the pool. If she wouldn't get her answers through an actual discussion, she figured she could try bribery. Dan was working, or she'd ask him to come and strong-arm Mer into talking.

It hit Kate then- what if it had to do with Dan? Mer had only been acting weird since Kate had left her with Dan yesterday. She hoped she was wrong, because Dan was her favorite brother, and Mer was her best friend. If something had happened, she could never pick a side. In fact, the very thought of leaving Mer made her feel like someone had taken her heart out and stepped on it.

She pushed the sliding door open, and stepped out into the sunlight again, the air conditioning cold on her back, as the sweat broke out on her face. She walked over to where Mer was sitting on her chair, drying off, her flip-flops smacking on the path.

She dropped the stuff on her chair, smacking Mer's hand away as she reached for the treats.

"Nope."

"This is my food." Mer was offended, wrapping the towel around her shoulders. "C'mon, I deserve a break, K."

"Not until you tell me what's up."

"What?" Mer's disbelief was practiced, and she was fiddling with the anklet Kate had given her for her birthday in the winter, nonce again not meeting Kate's eyes again. "There's nothing up."

"That's a load of shit." Kate frowned, staring at her friend. "You can tell me, you know. We're best friends."

"No."

"Mer," Kate reached over, and touched her hand, "Is something going on? I want to help."

"I kissed Dan. Yesterday." She blurted it out, and Kate recoiled, surprised. She knocked her book to the ground, the bookmark flying out. Sighing she reached to pick it up. Now it was her turn not to meet Mer's eyes. Mer reached over, and took a few candies from the open bag.

"You… you _what_?" she asked, finding her voice, and she was surprised at how hurt and betrayed she sound. She knew Mer could hear it too. She did suddenly feel like she couldn't breathe. So instead of looking at Mer, she ate the candies herself, feeling as sour as they were. Maybe she was overreacting, but she had no reason to feel this way. It was _Mer,_ it was her first kiss, she should be happy.

"Yesterday. When you were at that job interview and you had Dan looking after me."

"I guess he did his job a little too well." Kate replied, bitterly, crossing her arms. "Congrats I guess."

"Oh damn it, Kate we were just talking, and then…. He just leaned in and kissed me."

"I see. So it's his fault."

"Kate," Mer reached over, and grabbed her hands, and Kate finally met her eyes. Mer was clearly pleading with her, "What's wrong?"

She tried to pull away, but Mer had an iron grip. "Mm. Nothing."

"Liar. Are…" Mer was studying her, "Are you _jealous?_ "

"No. Don't be silly. I'm not jealous! I've already had my first kiss, remember?"

"Ah yes," Mer's sarcasm was evident, "With _Oscar._ "

"Oscar is perfectly nice."

"Perfectly nice," Mer mimicked. "At least you didn't date him too."

" _Now_ who's jealous?"

"Oscar's a dick. Forgive me if I'm not swooning over a pretentious theater jerk."

"I never swooned over him!" Kate was pissed now, and hoped that it showed. She wasn't feeling very charitable towards Mer at the moment. "I just can't believe that you kissed my _brother_. For your first kiss! It's _gross_."

"Ha!" Meredith snorted. "You _are_ jealous."

"Of you? Hell no. Dan. Of all people." She was rambling. "He maybe brushes his teeth once a month, if he remembers. And he always smells like grease from the diner, and-,"

"Oh for God's sake, Kate, why are you so dense?" Mer demanded, rolling her eyes.

"Dense?"

"If you'd stop ranting at me for five seconds, you'd know that neither of us enjoyed it."

"Really?" Kate managed to meet her best friend's eye again.

"Well afterwards, Dan told me it felt like he was kissing his sister. So I was kind of flattered, because I love being part of your family- but also, uh, it was weird."

"And how did you feel?"

"Well, I felt like I was kissing the wrong Todd sibling," Mer said lightly, and Kate looked up in surprise, watching her. There was no way.

"What? You mean Mike or John right? Because there's no way, that-." Kate was cut off when Meredith leaned in, and pressed her lips against hers. Kate's eyes widened in surprise, but after a second, she relaxed into the kiss, cupping Meredith's face in her hands, tasting the sugar crystals and chlorine on her lips, Mer grinning into her mouth.

Kate pulled away, staring at Meredith, "Oh," she said weakly.

Meredith grinned at her, "So I think you know which sibling I'm talking about now."

Kate smiled back, unable to help the feeling of relief coursing through her. Meredith did feel the same way. It wasn't weird. She did like Kate. "Definitely Rachel," she agreed.

Mer leaned in, looking her in the eye, "Try again, K."

"Well I'd hate to be the one responsible for wrecking your third kiss." Kate teased.

"Come here, freckles. Think I need to kiss you again."

Kate obliged, and the day that should have been the perfect day became the perfect day. There'd be time to figure it all out later, to assign labels and worries and fears. For now there was just chlorine-tasting, sugary kisses on a hot summer day.


End file.
